


How it all Began

by IcyStarlight



Series: Until The Magic Wears Off [3]
Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Backstory, Character Death, Demons, Dragons, Fae & Fairies, Gen, Magic, Other Characters Are Mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-10-17 05:34:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17554337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyStarlight/pseuds/IcyStarlight
Summary: All stories begin somewhere. For the inhabitants of several different kingdoms, they begin with different people and end together. This is where they began.Backstories and side stories for my UtMWO series: newest update - Tsumugi's backstory





	1. Backstory 3: Mitsuki

**Author's Note:**

> Wassup fam, yes this au isnt dead, no i dont know when the big story nightfall and daybreak were written for will be done, im sorry to say it but college is back in session and will probably kick my butt, but i want to write it so bad so bear with me as i slowly work my way through it, a lot of the groundwork is laid i just gotta u kno, actually put it all together and its alot. 
> 
> But as i struggle with that i got a bunch of side stories and backstories to tell that will further build my au and hopefully be enjoyable to read and i have nothing better to do with them so here y'all go this is the first backstory i've written out.

He was born in the castle. His parents served the royal family, his grandparents served the royal family, and they cycle goes back further than his family has bothered to keep track of. Generations of their family have been born in the castle, served the royal family, and died in the castle. It’s a cycle he’s prepared to continue when he finally sees the pattern. It’s not a bad life to live. 

 

His parents were bakers like their grandparents. His own grandparents had worked outside the castle, his grandpa had been messenger for the royal family, exploring the lands of Taimystre in the time when it was still a reforming kingdom. His grandmother had been a healer, blessed with the skill to manipulate the mana infused with a person’s aura to heal them. She had been one of the few recorded in recent history, but in the time when the Fae mixed amongst humans this kind of power was rare, but common enough to have a general name. This was the arte of soul weaving. 

He learned everything he could about magic. Every book he could get his hands on. He tried delivering messages just to get a chance to find a new book. But the world outside the capital city and castle was much to dangerous for a young child. Then when his little brother had been born, he was tasked with taking care of him when his mother worked. He loved his brother, but there was only so much he could learn on his own.

After wandering around the castle he eventually finds a library. It’s covered in layers of dust and cobwebs. Forgotten books lay stacked around the various tables, but the shelves stretch up far past his reach. Surely he could find something in here he could learn from, he would just have to look.

But this wasn’t a place he could stay when Iori was with him. It was way too dusty. He’d just have to clean it up then.

So every night for two weeks he would sneak out of bed to the library. In the dim candle light he would clean. It was a lot. Wiping every surface, even the ones he couldn't reach without climbing on the shelves. Trying to put all the books left out was a harder task than he expected as he wanted to read everyone he picked up whether he actually could or not. It was a lot of work by himself. But he did it anyways. If no one else would help him learn, then he would have to do it himself.

Finally he deemed the library clean enough for Iori to come with him. Everyday he’d take his brother and hole up in the library. He’d read to Iori, read everything he could understand. Which was less than he thought, but the books were very old. They spoke of history he hadn’t heard, full of concepts and words he didn’t understand.

It became his hideaway. He begs one of the knights to teach him to write when he’s not in the library. He learns bigger words and reads bigger books. Iori grows, he no longer needs to be carried around everywhere instead opting to just hold onto his big brother’s hand. He’s exhausted all the picture books in the library, now reading stories of old legends to Iori instead. His little brother really likes to hear about magic and he wonders if Iori has any like he does.

 

Then one day, there’s someone else in his library. 

It’s a little girl. She can’t be any older than Iori but he’s never seen her around before. She sits curled up against one of the shelves and doesn’t seem to notice when they enter the library. Her body shakes slightly every few seconds and it dawns on him that she’s crying. 

He walks closer, Iori hiding behind him as they approach. Her pale pink dress is torn at the knees. Mud coats the bottom edges of the fraying material. Her blonde hair has grass stuck in it. But what draws his attention is her knees, both bleeding from several scrapes. 

When he shifts a tad closer he accidentally knocks a tower of books he had left out over. The sound startles the girl into looking up. Her eyes match her dress, they’re one of the prettiest things he’s ever seen. She sits frozen in fear, tears still running down her cheeks.

“Are you, do you, um, do you want me to fix your knees?” he stutters. He doesn’t know what to say to her. She’s not a worker’s child like he is. He knows there’s nobles visiting, ones with kids, but he doesn’t know what happened to make one of them cry like this. Oh, wait, this, this is the princess. He can see it now, she looks just like the Queen. The Queen who he’s only ever seen from afar but knows is gentle and kind. He forgot there was a princess Iori’s age, she doesn’t ever play out in the gardens. He’s never actually seen her before. He wonders what she does for fun or who she plays with.

“Fix them? How would you do that?” her timid voice shakes him from his thoughts. She’s stopped crying at least which is good.

“With magic. I’m not very good at it, but I can at least stop the bleeding.” when he mentions magic, her eyes light up.

“Really? You can use magic?” She whispers her questions in awe. 

“A little bit,” he bends down and puts his hands over her knees, “here, watch.”

He closes his eyes. It’s not easy, it takes all his concentration to focus on her aura. The mana in the air responds readily to him. It’s always there, always a constant hum in the back of his mind. He can find the little tears where the cuts are. The aura there is thinner than the rest. With a little more focus, he can push the mana to mend the tears. Sure enough, when he opens his eyes, there’s a small golden glow under his palms. His hands are warm as he pulls them away, to see the cuts mended, as if they were never there. 

He falls backwards a little. Even just this much healing always takes so much out of him. Iori doesn’t hesitate in supporting him. He offers his brother a grateful smile but Iori is more focused on the princess in front of them.

Her eyes are a glow, there’s a small shock of wonder that shifts into a large smile as the golden light fades.

“That’s so cool! I knew it! I told them magic was real and they didn’t believe me! Now they’ll have to believe me!” she jumps up from her spot, excitedly bouncing around as she continues to cheer, “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” 

“What did you know dear?” A new voice chimes in from behind them, soft and kind. He can only stare in amazement as _the Queen_ walks into his library. There’s a soft smile on her face that falls when she sees the princess with a ripped and muddy dress. 

The princess is undeterred by whatever had her crying earlier, instead running over and bouncing up and down excitedly in front of the Queen, “Magic Mama! Magic! He healed me with magic! I told them! I told them magic was real and they laughed at me and pushed me but I was right!” 

The Queen looks over her daughter’s state, frowning, “Who laughed at you and pushed you?”

The princess looks at her feet, “I don’t want to be a tattletale.”

“They’re only telling you that because they know they’ve done something wrong. If they hadn’t done anything bad then it wouldn’t matter.” Iori speaks up from behind his leg. There’s a fierce look of determination on his face before it’s replaced with a blush and he hides away again. That’s right, his brother had the same problem with other kids before. 

The Queen smiles at them before turning back to her daughter. She waits patiently as the princess curls her hands in her dress before leaning up to whisper in her ear. He can only watch her face shift to anger briefly before she carefully masks it. When the princess stops whispering, the Queen looks over to them and then back at her daughter. “What are your names little ones?”

“I’m Izumi Mitsuki, and this is my little brother Iori. Say hi Iori.” He offers Iori a smile as his brother steps out from behind him to stand at his side and wave hello.

“Hello.” A smaller hand slips into his own and he gives it a squeeze. There’s a light squeeze back and it makes him smile.

“Hello Mitsuki, Iori, it’s nice to meet such kind young boys.” The Queen is truly something else, even her voice makes him feel safe. “Mitsuki, if it’s not too much trouble, could I ask you to watch over Tsumugi here for me? Just until I sort a few things out.”

“It’s no trouble at all!” he states readily amazed he doesn’t stutter when talking to the Queen. 

“Alright, I’ll come back for you in a bit Tsu-chan. Please wait here with Mitsuki and Iori until then. If you ask nicely maybe he’ll read to you.” The Queen kisses the princess’ forehead which makes the young girl giggle before leaving the room.

Then it’s just them and the princess. The princess of Taimystre, who the Queen just personally asked him to watch. She twirls her dress back and forth, fidgeting in a way he’s very familiar with. It’s the same thing Iori does when he wants something but is too worried or scared to ask.

“Well, what book should I read?” his question has both younger kids suddenly active as Iori scrambles to pick up a book and bring it over.

“This one! This one Nii-san! Read this one!” Iori thrusts the book in his face. He doesn’t need to look at it to know which one it is, there’s only one book Iori loves this much. 

The princess walks over slowly, unsure if she’s invited. He picks Iori up and places him on the large chair between the shelves. Iori giggles as he’s lifted up. It’s something he’s done for at least two years now. So when the princess stands a few feet away, he doesn’t think of her as the princess, he thinks of her as another kid just like Iori. One who watched Iori get excited over a book and then laugh when being lifted up and wanted to experience the same. It’s clear on her face even as she still stands a few feet away, hands clutching her dress.

“Would you like a lift my lady?” he bows down to a knee before her, before looking up to meet her eyes on the same level, “Or maybe a dragon ride?”

“A dragon ride! Ask for a dragon ride! Nii-san gives the best dragon rides!” Iori chimes in from the chair, book forgotten next to him.

She looks unsure at him, “What’s a dragon ride?”

He smiles at her and holds out a hand, “Would you like to find out?” 

She slowly reaches out a hand to take his. With a quick swoop he pulls her closer and hoists her up on his shoulders. She laughs as she’s lifted and nearly falls off when she doesn’t hold on. But she learns and holds tight as he runs, weaving in and out of the shelves. 

“Me too! Me too!” Iori cheers as he runs back towards the front of the library and he pulls to a stop next to the chair.

Tsumugi has yet to stop giggling since he picked her up but she stops to offer out a hand to Iori, “Well my valiant knight, where should the dragon take us?” 

She helps Iori up onto his shoulders, the two of them balance on his shoulders and he readjusts so he can have a better hold on them. Iori giggles and points somewhere he can’t see, “Off to defeat the demon king!” 

“Alright then, away we go!” both children cheer as he runs off through the library. 

It’s only after he’s run them around for a long time, paused to read them them the story Iori picked out, the legend of the legendary knight Zero, and is now running them around again that the door opens. He doesn’t hear it and nearly runs directly into the Queen. 

“Oh my, what’s going on here?” he thinks he’s done something wrong, but she simply sounds just as surprised to see them right in front of her as he was to see her.

“Mama! Mama! We’ve been playing knights and dragons! And Mitsuki read us the best book ever! And Iori helped me defeat the demon king!” Tsumugi bounces on his shoulder, nearly making him fall over, but he manages to hold steady. He bends down and both kids climb off his back, still holding hands from when they launched their joint attack against the demon king not long ago.

The Queen smiles at them as the princess goes over all the details of their afternoon and Iori adds his own input. This makes him smile too, when was the last time he saw Iori with a friend his own age? He didn’t know but here he was acting like he’d been friends with the princess their whole lives.

“Sounds like you’ve had quite the day Tsu-chan, did you have a good time?” the Queen asks gently, smoothing Tsumugi’s hair down.

Tsumugi smiles brightly and jumps up and down in excitement, “Mama I had the best time ever!”

“Well how would you like to come back tomorrow and play with Mitsuki and Iori?” The Queen’s question is something he hears but does not process.

“CAN I? CAN I REALLY?” She jumps up and down yelling, about to burst with excitement but then she stops suddenly, “Wait, but tomorrow is lessons…”

“Well how about I teach Mitsuki and Iori with you, would that make you happy?” The Queen asks Tsumugi but his mouth drops. _The Queen just offered to teach him._

“But what about my tutors?” Tsumugi clutches her dress again unsure.

It’s there and gone again quickly, but after years of watching Iori who doesn’t express a lot of his emotions, Mitsuki catches the way the Queen’s face changes into something he doesn’t know before smiling at Tsumugi again,“Your father and I discussed it and I’ll be taking over your lessons from now on, is that okay?”

Tsumugi nods eagerly. But he at least has to try something, “Your majesty, we couldn’t possibly,”

“Mitsuki,” he freezes when she addresses him directly, “you and your brother are the first friends Tsu-chan has made. It’s no problem for me at all. Surely you both want to learn all you can too. I can even teach you about magic.” 

That sells him.

 

From that day forward, he watches over Tsumugi alongside his brother. True to her word, the Queen teaches all of them. Iori is quick to pick up on harder topics and helps explain them to Tsumugi. His brother takes to helping her with everything he can, and he doesn’t think twice about caring for her like she was his little sister.

When the Queen falls ill, Tsumugi struggles without her. He steps into the role as best he can, sorting out her clothes for the day, managing her schedule with Iori, and basically just taking care of her. The last time he speaks to the Queen before she passes, she asks him to keep watching over Tsumugi until he no longer can. He doesn’t even have to think about it before he agrees. 

It’s not easy. Especially when the Queen passes. He loses a mentor but Tsumugi loses her mom. Her duties get harder. She has to learn more and more about running a kingdom. The king takes on most of it, but it’s not easy on either royal. 

He learns very fast how to deal with pissy nobles. How to read through documents and only pass on the ones that truly need the princess’ direct attention. How to distribute tasks to different servants in the castle, which council members actually care versus those who are only there because they have the power. He learns when its okay to address her as Tsumugi and when he should call her princess. About the long histories between all the noble families who visit the castle. 

He fights for Iori to become her advisor when she needs one. He hand picks her personal knights when she’s old enough to be official crowned in as princess. He knows when something is bothering her. He knows when she needs a break. He knows how to cheer her up when she’s down. He does everything he can to help her. 

The king calls him Tsumugi’s guardian. He gets a say in more things than he probably should if the council’s dislike of him can say anything. He knows most everyone by name. He and Banri, the king’s advisor, are the reason the castle is so put together. He teaches the new court mage Nagi everything he’d ever need to know about the castle and more. He prides himself on knowing as much as he possibly can.

When Riku enters the picture, his life becomes even more hectic. It’s nice to have another eye on the princess, but he’s had years to learn what Riku has yet to figure out. He teaches the dragon everything he can about the castle and Tsumugi. He makes sure the dragon settles nicely into their little group as well as the castle. It’s a lot more than he would ever imagine he would end up doing, but he wouldn’t change it for the world.


	2. Backstory 0: Tsumugi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Am i super sad after watching a sad movie and about to drink a lot to stop crying and then be tipsy and sad? U betcha … im so sorry kids, well i mean i wrote this so im not sorry but still ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> also no beta as per usual we jsut suffer

She doesn’t remember much from when she’s a baby. Well not actually a baby, no one remembers that, but from when she could barely run more than ten feet without falling over, that kind of little. The first thing she can think of is sitting on her father’s throne, looking out over an empty room as her mom puts a tiara on her head and tells her that one day this will be her throne. She’s still too young to really know what any of that means but she remembers the happiness of getting to spend time with her mom. 

Her earliest memories aren’t happy ones. They aren’t bad memories, but it’s bittersweet thinking about that time. She rarely saw her parents, the old maid who came and woke her up for lessons was cranky and mean, and her tutors didn’t like it when she didn’t understand things right away. You’re the princess, they said, you have to be perfect. She hated being a princess. 

 

When she’s five she’s crowned princess in front of a crowd of people she doesn’t know. They cheer for her and praise her but she doesn’t want to be princess. She tried to tell her parents but she barely has time to hug them when she sees them much less talk to them. She runs away from her own party and hides in the gardens. No one goes looking for her right away, she could run away right now and never be the princess. 

One of the noble’s children follows her out into the garden. It’s a boy with silver hair and matching eyes whose name she can’t remember. He’s a little older than she is and he has a weird crest on his jacket. Years later she’ll know it’s the crest of the neighboring kingdom of Kyome, but for now he’s just another noble kid who wants to make fun of her again.

They always do that. The other noble kids. They make fun of her hair, of her eyes, of her clothes. They tell her if she wasn’t a princess she’d be a pig still just as pink. They call her a crybaby and so many other names she’s lost to time. This boy is different though. He doesn’t make fun of her when he sees her crying. Instead he offers her his handkerchief in silence. They sit in the garden together for what feels like forever under the stars. He tells her that being royalty stinks because all these people think they have a better idea of how you should act rather than listening to you. 

She tells him she hates it so much and she just wants to run away. He laughs at her, but its not mean laughing. It’s different somehow, she doesn’t know how, but it is. He tells her somethings you can’t run from and that he’s already tried that. He says that one day it’ll get better, she’ll find someone she wants to protect, and then she’ll know how to stand up for herself. She doesn’t remember the boy well, but she never forgets what he said. She certainly doesn’t forget when it becomes true not long after. 

 

The regional nobles are visiting again. The two kids she usual plays with aren’t here this time. Their fathers tell her that they have more important things to do that play like little kids and maybe she should grow up too. The others kids don’t want to play either. They don’t like the gardens and they don’t like her. They laugh when she tells them the gardens are magical. Magic doesn’t exist they say. She calls them liars but she doubts that it hurts as much as the names they call her. They push her and pull her hair and when she trips and falls trying to run away through the hedges they laugh even harder. She’s never wanted to run away more than in that moment, so she does. 

Or at least she tries too. She winds up running through the castle and in also trying to avoid people she gets lost. She didn’t know there was a library in the castle. But its empty and hidden away so no one should be able to see her cry. She doesn’t want to be a crybaby but it hurts alot. 

She bawls and bawls until she can only sniffle. She pulls out her favorite handkerchief, the one that boy gave her which feels like so long ago even though it was just last year. A nearby thud startles her and she looks up to see two boys she’s never seen before. 

“Are you, do you, um, do you want me to fix your knees?” the older boy, the one in front with orange hair stutters. 

“Fix them? How would you do that?” is he a healer’s kid? But she has never seen him before when she used to go there.

“With magic. I’m not very good at it, but I can at least stop the bleeding.” the second he says magic, she feels as if she’s dreaming.

“Really? You can use magic?” she tries to whisper because if he’s a spirit she doesn’t want to scare him. She’s never seen real magic before and she’s not about to lose her chance now.

“A little bit,” he bends down and puts his hands over her knees, “here, watch.”

And she does watch. The boy closes his eyes and his hands glow bright and warm like the sun. 

 

That was the day her life totally changed. She met Mitsuki and Iori and they became her best friends. She gets her mom back and even gets to spend more time with her dad. Her mom teaches her instead of the mean tutors, wakes her up in the morning instead of the old maid, and braids her hair every day when she eats breakfast. 

Mitsuki sneaks her cookies, Iori teaches her things the tutors have been trying for years to teach her so easily she wonders why they never taught it this way. Her mom takes her into the city and lets her buy a whole bunch of sweets and new dresses. Everything is different from before and so much better. A year passes in a flash and when she’s going to be seven in three months, her mom gets sick. 

At first it’s just normal sickness. Her mom is in bed for a few weeks and she visits everyday. She talks about her new tutors and the one who tried to kick Iori out and how she stood up for her friend. She talks about making flower crowns with Mitsuki and how he is teaching her about the different flowers in the gardens. She talks about a lot of things and tells her mom that she’ll get to see them when she gets better. But her mom doesn’t get better. 

Her mom responds less and less when she gets the chance to visit. The healers don’t tell her anything, no one will tell her anything. The only thing she knows is that her lessons get harder and she’s expected to learn more and more faster. They say she’s going to have to grow up even faster now to help her father run the kingdom. She tells them that’s her mom’s job but no one answers her.

It only gets worse from there. They’re called into her mom’s room one night, her dad whom she hasn’t seen in a few weeks really is there and he looks almost as bad as her mom does. The healers say she won’t make it til morning. She bawls.

Her mom tucks her hair behind her ears and tells her to smile. She tries but she can’t she can’t smile. In the end, her mom doesn’t get to see her smile again. At some point in the night after she’s cried herself to sleep, she wakes up to her dad hugging her tightly and knows, knows that her mom is gone.

 

She’s eight when her mother dies. It’s fall and as leaves fall on her mother’s grave she feels like falling too. She spends all day out in the private cemetery by the forest’s edge. Iori spends the day with her, never saying anything. She doesn’t even have any tears left to cry by then. 

Her life returns to one like before she met Iori and Mitsuki. She’s surrounded by tutors and snobby nobles who berate her for not learning fast enough or not doing things right on the first try. Her lessons are harder and harder when she doesn’t have time to understand or work things out with Iori. She hasn’t seen either brother since that day after her mom’s funeral. They won’t let her see them, saying it’s not right for the princess to be friends with servants and commoners. She hasn’t seen her dad for more than a passing glance in weeks and everytime she does see him for a moment he looks almost like her mom did right before… 

She cries herself to sleep on the nights she doesn’t pass out the second she crawls into bed. One night she finds a silver handkerchief tucked in her nightstand when she’s used all the other ones. She remembers the boy who told her that one day it’ll get better, she’ll find someone she wants to protect, and then she’ll know how to stand up for herself. She cries and cries because she’s lost all that. There’s a knock at the door and she wants to scream before it opens and her friends peer in. Mitsuki and Iori are here. She’s off her bed and running at them before they even close the door all the way. 

That night they all fall asleep piled in her big bed after she sobs her heart out into Mitsuki’s chest. Iori tells her they’ve been trying to keep him and his brother away, saying that the mean old people said she didn’t want to see them and how he knew it wasn’t true. She hugs both her friends so very tight and doesn’t let go until they’re woken in the morning by a mean old maid who yells at Iori and Mitsuki.

With her silver handkerchief in her hands, she steps up and protects her friends. She yells at the maid, she yells what she’s always wanted to yell to these mean old people. If she wants to be friends with servants then she’s going to be friends with them. If she wants to eat dinner with her dad everyday no matter what then it’s going to happen. If she wants new tutors she’ll get them. If she wants to learn combat training she is going to learn it with Iori and Mitsuki by her side because no one else cared when her mom died. No one else did anything but tell her she had to be better and she’s sick of that. So right now, starting then and there she was changing things because she had people to protect and if they didn’t like it, then they could get the hell out of her castle!

She’s breathing hard and her face is red but she didn’t cry. Iori’s hand is in her own and Mitsuki’s hand is on her shoulder. Her friends are at her side no matter what. The maid gasps and yells that’s no way for a princess to act and that she needed to stop this right this instant. She smiles at the maid who she’s never liked and tells her that she’s the princess and she can do whatever she wants. That if the maid has a problem with it then she can leave because this is her kingdom and her castle and she was tired of all these people forgetting that. 

News of her outburst sweeps the castle. When her father finds her midday she smiles at him and tells him what Iori taught her this morning and that the cooks made her pancakes in the shapes of bunnies and that the two new maids said her dress today was like the roses in the garden and her father smiles for the first time in what feels like forever. 

 

The castle changes after that. Gone are the old mean maids and tutors, now there’s friendly servants and knights who don’t avoid her. They’re all very nice and the other worker children think she’s the prettiest person they’ve ever seen. Only the older kids like Mitsuki say otherwise though, they tell her that her mom was the prettiest but she’ll be prettier when she grows up. She joins in on their lessons and the seamstress who teaches them all doesn’t treat her any different than she treats them. 

The knight captain is a the second person she’s wanted to be like when she grows up, her mom being the first. The knight captain is pretty and kind and fierce and doesn’t back down from a challenge. She teaches her, Mitsuki, and Iori all the basics of combat and sword play. She’s never had more fun in a long time. 

Then one day, before she even realizes it, she likes being the princess. She likes her home in the castle and all those bad memories seem like a bad dream. She still misses her mom, but the castle becomes more and more like home the more friends she makes. 

Then, when she meets Riku, and well, things only get better. And that boy from long ago, he was right.


	3. Side 1: The boy with red hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a strange boy running around the castle disturbing the calm of a normal day. The only person who knows anything is asleep and this mystery has gone on for far too long, Iori is going to get to the bottom of this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> take a shot everytime iori calls riku cute

It had been a few months since Riku first became part of life at the castle. Iori thought that by now things would’ve have calmed down. The excitement and energy Riku brought into the castle had apparently been contagious as his old ordered life had become more and more hectic. Today was no exception either. If anything it seemed to be worse than what was considered normal now. 

The day had started out just fine, yet by mid-morning something had gone horribly wrong. Servants bustled around whispering back and forth hurriedly. Knights patrolled around looking on edge. There had been no reports of anything bad happening, not that anything bad ever happened in the castle other than when the regional nobles came to visit. Though now that he thought about it, he hadn’t even gotten a report of anything at all happening. But the castle was rowdier than usual so something had to be happening. 

He asked several people but no one could give him an answer that was consistent with another. All the info he managed to piece together was that a kid had suddenly appeared in the middle of the castle out of nowhere and was now leading the knights on a wild goose chase. The kid knew the castle well enough that servants would find him hiding in various spots, but would run every time he was confronted. How they hadn’t caught the kid and questioned him yet was a mystery to him. There were more important things for him to worry about though, rather than a kid just causing trouble.

By the time lunch came he had a better idea of the situation and was now slightly annoyed by it. The kid had not been caught yet which was the part that annoyed him, but there were more details on the situation he managed to gather. The kid had been helping Nagi with something as that was around where he was first seen. Though that didn’t give them any answers because Nagi was currently out cold. He was unharmed just asleep and they could not get him to wake up. When he had asked his brother about it, Mitsuki said that Nagi had used too much magic at once and now would sleep until his magic could replenish itself. Also that he’d probably be asleep til the evening. While that was concerning, there were a few other things he had learned that didn’t add up. Every time the kid got close to the outside of the castle, he wouldn’t leave. When asked who he was and what he had been doing the kid wouldn’t speak. Finally, the kid was not only quick enough to outrun several knights and know the castle well enough to hide it it, the kid also seemed to be able to avoid going anywhere near the King or Princess. 

The whole situation didn’t add up. There were so many factors that didn’t add up. Well if no one else could solve this problem then he would have to do it. Not because he was curious or anything, but it was distracting to have everyone chasing this kid around. 

It didn’t take long to track down the kid, despite how hard the rumors made it seem. Some of the knights had cornered the kid into the library it seemed so that helped. Yamato seemed to have the same idea of just solving this issue already as the knight captain made his way down the hall to where he was currently asking the knights outside the library about the kid. 

“Curious about the mysterious hideaway too Ichi?” Yamato asked. 

He nods his answer and enters the library with Yamato. There backed into the corner is a boy who can’t be much older than himself with bright red hair tied back into a long ponytail and ruby red eyes. He’s dressed in some variation of a servant’s uniform but instead of just the white shirt and black pants, he wears a maroon shoulder cloak with a similar style to one Tsumugi wears. He can’t believe this.

“Have we really spent all day chasing Riku around?” He hoped his annoyance was clearly visible as he stared down the group of knights in front of him. They were even the newer knights that Riku was friendly with what were they all doing? He didn’t even think twice about the blur of red that shot towards him, taking refuge behind his back. What he did notice however, was the lack of claws on his shoulder and instead the feeling of hands gripping the back of his shirt tightly. Oh, that was new. 

Looking down he noticed that the small dragon his brain had thought was here was actually the boy his own age hiding behind him. Sure he had seen the boy in front of him but it was so obviously Riku now that his brain had just jumped right to that. 

Wait a minute, not leaving the castle, appeared out of nowhere but had been seen with Nagi, the same coloring, and the fact he had yet to see the small dragon today? The whole situation was now just going to give him the worst headache. He wanted to pin it on Nagi not telling anyone, but they all knew about Riku’s magic and that he could possibly turn human, but they had forgotten apparently because when the dragon vanished and the boy appeared they hadn’t put two and two together. 

Yamato peers around him and looks Riku over before finally sighing, “That really is Riku huh?” 

“It would seem so.” he stated blandly. 

“Well why didn’t you just say so Riku?” Yamato’s question seems to make Riku nervous. Riku peers slightly out from behind him, letting one hand go from Iori’s shirt to make a gesture at his throat like something is choking him.

“You can’t talk?” he asks. Riku nods enthusiastically and curls the hand he had let go with back onto the back of his shirt. How cute.

Yamato clicks his tongue and adjusts his glasses, “I’d say ask Nagi but he’s probably still going to be out for a while.”

“I’ll keep Riku with me until he wakes up, to make sure he stays out of trouble or people don’t start chasing him again.” he looks back at Riku while explaining his plan to Yamato, the redhead beams brightly at him. Cute indeed.  
Yamato nods and waves the knights out of the room ahead of him, they all take a curious look closer at the boy behind Iori who merely ducks out of sight. Yamato eyes the now hiding Riku as the knights leave before he talks to Iori, “Make sure to take him by Mitsu, he probably hasn’t eaten today.” 

Then it’s just him and Riku left alone in the quiet room. Normally Riku would fill the silence but seeing as he couldn’t talk that might be an issue. Sure enough Riku hesitantly lets go of Iori’s shirt and then curls his fingers in his pant legs, twisting and bunching up the fabric in a habit reminicate of Tsumugi when she’s nervous. 

“Come on, Nii-san will probably be worried he hasn’t seen you all day and surely Tsumu- I mean the princess is too.” he goes to walk out of the room when Riku catches his wrist and pulls back. He prepares himself to try and decode whatever message Riku is trying to tell him only to realize its not hard to understand him even if he can’t talk. 

So they stand in silence. Well they probably would’ve wound up standing in silence had he not spoken up to try and just figure out exactly what Riku wanted to say. Turning back around to face Riku who merely flinches under his gaze and that’s just not right. What happened to all the confidence and energy Riku usually paraded around the castle with. Honestly it was like sometimes they couldn’t get Riku to sit still yet here he was afraid even though he was a lot bigger as a human than as a dragon.

Then it hit him, that was probably the problem. Nagi probably hadn’t really explained anything when doing whatever magic thing he had done, he had probably just asked for Riku’s help and Riku would never say no to helping one of them. Then to wake up as a human, with the only person who knew what had happened be asleep, and not being able to explain yourself. The fact that he had been chased around all day probably hadn’t helped at all either. After so many years as a dragon, Riku had probably long forgotten how to be human. 

Sighing he rubbed his eyes with the free hand Riku wasn’t still holding onto, “I know you’re sorry for causing trouble but it really wasn’t your fault, the others will tell you the same thing. Nagi should’ve warned us in advance and we should’ve remembered that you could turn human.”

Riku looks up at him with a worried expression and watery eyes. What business did Riku have being this cute as a human. As a tiny dragon it was fine, but this? Unacceptable. He fights down a blush hard, Riku may get to win him over with the sad puppy dog eyes when he is a tiny and cute dragon, this, he will not fall twice. 

Tugging his companion along he makes his way through the castle up to the kitchens. Riku lags behind at first but quickly catches up enough to swing their conjoined hands as they walk. Riku smiles brightly and waves when they pass Tsumugi and Sogo who look very confused, not that he can blame them. He was confused too, but he internally breathes a sigh of relief when the princess turns and runs back at them from the other end of the hallway. Squealing, “Riku? Riku is that you? Look at you! You look so handsome! Are you the boy who was running around all morning? Oh you poor thing you must be starving, you missed breakfast this morning! Iori! We have to take him to Mitsuki!”

“We are already on our way there. Would you like to accompany us, or did you have something you needed to be doing?” the princess’ awkward laugh is the only answer he needs. With a pointed look he shoos her back towards Sogo, “Go do your work, Riku will still be here when you’re finished.”

Riku waves her off and she waves back with just as much enthusiasm. The rest of the trip to the kitchens is quiet and that quiet vanishes completely the second his brother sets eyes on Riku. Mitsuki is quick to set a full plate of food in front of Riku and list off all the things he’s going to yell at Nagi for when he wakes up. When Tsumugi finds them not long after, his brother has tried given Riku a third plate of food this one mostly sweets and he’s had to step in because this is too much food Riku is going to get sick if he keeps eating all this so fast in a body he isn’t used to, she just laughs at them. Then when Nagi wakes up in the evening and tells them Riku will probably remain human for a while everyone cheers and even Riku looks excited on top of nervous.

So much for life finally calming down

**Author's Note:**

> so ye thats that, i promise im working on the big fic but it is alot and i like all these little stories i keep coming up with and my pile of aus never dwindles only grows but it will be done! 
> 
> be sure to smash that kudos and leave me a comment if u liked this, i dont live for validation but it certainly helps :)


End file.
